Civil Unions

At a birthplace of the gay rights movement, patrons of New York City's Stonewall Inn said they felt like they were living history. In Wyoming, the mother of a man beaten to death because of his sexuality said words couldn't express her gratitude. An 82-year-old photographer who chronicled protests in the 1960s called it "a new dawn. " President Barack Obama's declaration Wednesday that he supports gay marriage may have lacked the urgency of Kennedy's 1963 push for the Civil Rights Act, or the force and finality of the Emancipation Proclamation, but it was still being greeted as a major...

Minutes after President Barack Obama endorsed gay marriage on May 9, Colorado's Democratic governor choked back tears as he ordered state lawmakers to reconsider a civil-unions measure defeated the day before by Republicans. In the week that followed, the debate over equal rights for same-sex couples consumed the Capitol. Republicans succeeded in killing the measure, but lawmakers from both parties say the issue could play an important role in White House race in Colorado. "Go back to your communities, go back to your neighborhoods, go back to your churches and let them know...

A last-ditch effort by Colorado's governor to give gay couples in the state rights similar to married couples failed Monday after Republicans rejected the proposal during a special legislative session. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper had said the special session was needed to address a "fundamental question of fairness and civil rights. " The bill's demise was expected by Democrats, who have begun using the issue as a rallying cry to topple Republicans in the November elections.

DENVER - Gay couples who watched as Colorado lawmakers rejected a civil unions measure are taking comfort in the bill sponsor's mantra: It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when civil unions become law. The most emotional issue - some call it divisive - at the Legislature came to an end late Monday in front of hundreds of observers at the Capitol, during a special session. It was the second time within a week the bill failed. The first was after a Republican filibuster. Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, had said the second go-around was needed to address a...

HONOLULU - Hawaii lawmakers declined to vote yesterday on a bill that would have allowed same-sex civil unions, effectively killing the measure. The state House of Representatives decided to indefinitely postpone a decision on whether to grant gay and lesbian couples the same rights and benefits the state provides to married couples. The state Senate had approved a civil unions bill last week. But House leadership wavered on pushing the controversial issue. Last year, 33 of 51 House members voted in favor of civil unions.

HARTFORD -- The state House of Representatives passed legislation yesterday that would make Connecticut the second state to establish same-sex civil unions, and the first to do it without a court order. But to appease gay marriage opponents and to avoid a possible veto by Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell, the Democrat-controlled House amended the bill to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. That means the Senate, which overwhelmingly approved the civil unions bill last week, would need to approve the amended version before it reaches Rell's desk.

MONTPELIER - People on both sides of the gay-marriage debate in Vermont say they expect a California Supreme Court decision allowing gay marriage in that state will be used as ammunition if, as expected, Vermont lawmakers take up the issue next year. "There will be an effort in the next legislative session to have a bill that would move marriage forward for all Vermonters," said Bari Shamas of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force. "Vermont's civil union law does not go far enough, and this California decision matters," Shamas added.

Chants of "shame on you" from gay rights supporters thundered through the Colorado House on Tuesday night after Republican House Speaker Frank McNulty said legislation to allow civil unions won't get a vote. McNulty told reporters that lawmakers had reached an impasse and civil unions would die along with several other bills, including an overhaul of school discipline policies and setting a blood-level marijuana limit for drivers. "We have reached an impasse," McNulty said.

An emotional Gov. John Hickenlooper said Wednesday that he's pulling Colorado lawmakers back to work to resolve a debate over civil unions that ended abruptly without a House vote a day earlier. Hickenlooper's announcement on the final day of the 2012 regular legislative session was sparked by what the Democratic governor called an "overwhelming need" to discuss civil unions. Gay rights advocates say the proposal has enough support to become law but was blocked by last-minute stall tactics from GOP House leaders.

Civil unions may be slow to catch on in Rhode Island, but gay and lesbian couples in Illinois are obtaining them in great numbers. An Illinois gay marriage advocacy group, Equality Illinois, says its study of county records in that state shows more than 3,700 couples have gotten civil union licenses since that state began offering the option June 1. In Rhode Island, only 39 couples had obtained licenses as of last month. State lawmakers in the Ocean State approved civil unions in July after legislation to authorize gay marriage fizzled.

NEW YORK - President Obama crisscrossed Manhattan for a series of targeted appeals Monday to a trio of key election-year constituencies: women, young people, and gay and lesbian supporters. During a commencement address at Barnard College, a private women's college, he urged the graduates to fight for their place at "the head of the table" and help lead a country still battered by economic woes toward brighter days. He stated: "‘I believe that the women of this generation will help lead the way. " Later Monday, Obama was scheduled to headline his first fund-raiser...

A last-ditch effort by Colorado's governor to give gay couples in the state rights similar to married couples failed Monday after Republicans rejected the proposal during a special legislative session. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper had said the special session was needed to address a "fundamental question of fairness and civil rights. " The bill's demise was expected by Democrats, who have begun using the issue as a rallying cry to topple Republicans in the November elections.

Opponents of same-sex unions rallied at the Colorado Capitol on Tuesday as tensions remained high one day after state House Republicans rejected a proposal to provide gay couples rights similar to marriage. Dozens of people saying they support traditional marriage cheered Republican lawmakers and thanked state House Speaker Frank McNulty, crediting him for the defeat of the heavily-debated civil union legislation. Gay rights advocates also maintained a presence at the Capitol, as a man with a horn loudly heckled McNulty as he...

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney on gay rights: OBAMA: Now supports legal recognition of same-sex marriage, a matter decided by states. Opposed that recognition in 2008 presidential campaign — and in 2004 Senate campaign — while supporting the extension of legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples in civil unions. Achieved repeal of the military ban on openly gay service members. Has not achieved repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and affirms the right of states to refuse to...

President Barack Obama's campaign is using his support of gay marriage to draw a contrast with Republican rival Mitt Romney. The morning after Obama publically embraced same-sex marriage, his campaign released a web video titled "Mitt Romney: Backwards on Equality. " The video opens with Obama saying same-sex couples should be allowed to get married, followed by a clip of Romney saying Wednesday that he opposes gay marriage and favors rolling back some rights for same-sex couples.

Opponents of gay marriage have been aggressive — and in most cases successful — in passing measures to block gay marriage in the states expected to be at the heart of the race for the White House. Actions in the past decade in the states considered to be as 2012 toss-ups: COLORADO: Voters passed referendum in 2006 banning same-sex marriage. This week, Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper recalled legislators to consider legislation allowing civil unions. FLORIDA: Voters passed referendum in 2008 making state-recognized marriage between a man and a woman.

NEW YORK -- The mayor of the nation's largest city says same-sex couples deserve the same rights in civil unions that straight couples enjoy in marriage, but he will continue to enforce New York state's ban on gay marriage. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's statement, reversing his previous refusal to discuss his position on gay marriage, came the same week that dozens of same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses were turned away by the city clerk, and that state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer held that gay and lesbian marriages are prohibited by state law. Bloomberg said in an interview that he...

WILMINGTON, Del. - More than 400 people, including a US senator, witnessed the first same-sex civil union in Delaware on New Year's Day. Lawyers Lisa Goodman and Drewry Fennell were joined in the union by the Rev. Patricia Downing, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wilmington, where the ceremony took place yesterday afternoon. Goodman and Fennell have been partners for 14 years. Goodman is a lawyer who led the advocacy group Equality Delaware's fight for the civil union law. Fennell heads the state Criminal Justice Council and formerly led the ACLU's...

At a birthplace of the gay rights movement, patrons of New York City's Stonewall Inn said they felt like they were living history. In Wyoming, the mother of a man beaten to death because of his sexuality said words couldn't express her gratitude. An 82-year-old photographer who chronicled protests in the 1960s called it "a new dawn. " President Barack Obama's declaration Wednesday that he supports gay marriage may have lacked the urgency of Kennedy's 1963 push for the Civil Rights Act, or the force and finality of the Emancipation Proclamation, but it was still being greeted as a major...

An emotional Gov. John Hickenlooper said Wednesday that he's pulling Colorado lawmakers back to work to resolve a debate over civil unions that ended abruptly without a House vote a day earlier. Hickenlooper's announcement on the final day of the 2012 regular legislative session was sparked by what the Democratic governor called an "overwhelming need" to discuss civil unions. Gay rights advocates say the proposal has enough support to become law but was blocked by last-minute stall tactics from GOP House leaders.